Justin Baldoni has expanded his legal team by bringing on Alexandra Shapiro, a high-profile criminal defense attorney known for her role in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial, to represent him in his ongoing Blake Lively legal battle. This development, revealed in court records dated September 18, 2024, marks a significant escalation in a complex dispute surrounding the 2024 film It Ends With Us.
Shapiro, who served as one of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s first clerks on the Supreme Court, filed her notice of appearance last week, formally joining Baldoni’s legal efforts. The director’s countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was dismissed earlier this year, but the clash shows no signs of abating as both sides maneuver through overlapping lawsuits and public accusations.
Blake Lively’s Formal Complaint Against Justin Baldoni and Associates
On December 20, 2024, four months after the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel premiered in theaters, Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, alongside other associates, alleging a coordinated retaliation campaign. The complaint named Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath, cofounder Steve Sarowitz, publicist Jennifer Abel, crisis communications expert Melissa Nathan, and others as defendants.
Lively asserted that Baldoni and his team launched a carefully orchestrated press and digital campaign against her after she raised concerns about alleged misconduct on set. According to the complaint, multiple cast and crew members, including Lively herself, experienced
“invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior”
attributed to Baldoni and Heath. The complaint claimed this retaliation caused significant personal and professional damage.
The allegations cover a wide range of issues, including sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to prevent or investigate misconduct, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, invasion of privacy, and interference with economic prospects.
Media Reports Detail the Claims of a Smear Campaign
On December 21, 2024, The New York Times reported extensively on Lively’s complaint, highlighting messages allegedly sent by Baldoni, publicist Abel, and communications specialist Nathan that were included in the documents. The article presented a detailed view of Lively’s accusation of a retaliatory smear campaign waged by Baldoni and his associates.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct, and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Blake Lively, Actress
Response from Baldoni and His Legal Team
Bryan Freedman, representing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their affiliates, responded swiftly to Lively’s allegations. Freedman vehemently denied the claims, labeling them “serious and categorically false accusations” aimed at repairing Lively’s reputation amid the film’s promotional campaign.
“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.”
Bryan Freedman, Attorney
Freedman also clarified that Wayfarer’s hiring of a crisis manager occurred prior to any promotional campaign, emphasizing that the company merely responded to media inquiries in order to maintain balanced and factual reporting. He asserted that internal communications were standard public relations practice without proactive retaliation.
Baldoni Faces Professional Fallout Amid the Controversy
Following the publication of The New York Times story, talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) severed ties with Baldoni on December 21, 2024. Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, confirmed the decision but denied that Ryan Reynolds exerted influence over the agency’s move, countering Baldoni’s claims which suggested Reynolds pressured his agent.
“In Baldoni’s filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true. Baldoni’s former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.”
William Morris Endeavor statement
Industry Reactions and Public Support for Lively
Following Lively’s CRD complaint and related coverage, several notable figures expressed their support for her. Colleen Hoover, author of It Ends With Us, praised Lively’s honesty and patience on social media, while castmate Jenny Slate publicly voiced solidarity, describing the revelations as
“terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening.”
“As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation.”
Jenny Slate, Actress
Other cast members such as Brandon Sklenar and Lively’s fellow stars from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants like America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn joined in expressing solidarity with Lively, underscoring the seriousness of the allegations and their courage in speaking out.
Departure of Podcast Cohost Amidst Rising Controversy
Just days after these revelations, Liz Plank announced her exit from The Man Enough Podcast, which she cohosted alongside Baldoni and Jamey Heath. Though Plank did not specify her reasons publicly, her decision came in the wake of Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer.
“I’m writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast. Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was.”
Liz Plank, Podcast Cohost
She expressed ongoing commitment to the podcast’s values and support for those who call out injustice, indicating that she would share more once she had processed recent events further.
Former Publicist Files Suit Against Baldoni and Associates
On December 24, 2024, Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC filed a lawsuit alleging a covert coordinated attack against her orchestrated by Jennifer Abel, Melissa Nathan, Baldoni, and Wayfarer. The suit claims contractual breaches, defamation, and manipulative media tactics designed to damage Jones’s reputation and business relationships.
“Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, to breach multiple contracts and induce contractual breaches, and to steal clients and business prospects. Behind Jones’s back, they secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star.”
Stephanie Jones lawsuit excerpt
The suit further alleges that Abel and Nathan now falsely cast blame on Jones as their misconduct comes to light. Jones’s efforts to resolve matters privately via arbitration reportedly were rebuffed by Baldoni and Wayfarer. Requests for comment were made but no responses were received.
Baldoni and Associates Launch $250 Million Suit Against The New York Times
On December 31, 2024, Baldoni, Wayfarer, several company executives, as well as Abel and Nathan, initiated a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. The suit challenges the newspaper’s article about an alleged smear campaign targeting Lively, asserting the story was fabricated from a “false and self-serving narrative,” relying heavily on Lively’s unsubstantiated account from her CRD complaint.
“Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents,’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”
Plaintiffs’ lawsuit against The New York Times
The complaint insists that it was Lively, not the plaintiffs, who orchestrated a smear campaign. The New York Times declared it intends to “vigorously defend” its reporting, affirming its article was based on thousands of pages of original documents including text messages and emails.
New York Legal Battle Escalates with Lively’s Lawsuit Against Baldoni and Associates
Later on December 31, 2024, Lively filed a related sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit in New York against Baldoni, Wayfarer, company executives, Nathan, Abel, and the film’s production entity. Her allegations mirror those in the CRD complaint, emphasizing harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, emotional distress, and privacy violations.
“Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims.”
Lively’s attorneys responding to Baldoni’s counter-lawsuit
They criticized the counter-lawsuit’s premise that Lively’s earlier administrative complaint was a ruse, insisting that the federal complaint she filed that day disproves this notion and reaffirms her commitment to pursuing justice.
Baldoni’s Counsel Signals Further Legal Action Against Lively
In the new year, Baldoni’s legal team reiterated that their fight was far from over, hinting at additional lawsuits against other unnamed individuals involved in the case. In a January 2, 2025 interview with NBC News, Bryan Freedman confirmed plans for legal action directly against Lively.
“There are other bad actors involved, and make no mistake—this will not be the last lawsuit.”
Court documents
Legal and Public Relations Battles Continue to Intensify
Speculation swirled on social media about Ryan Reynolds’ movie Deadpool & Wolverine, with rumors suggesting that a character named Nicepool was a jab at Baldoni. Freedman addressed those claims in an interview, condemning attempts to mock the serious allegations and pointing out that the proper response to sexual harassment accusations is legal and procedural, not ridicule.
“What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni. You don’t make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously.”
Bryan Freedman, Attorney
Lively’s legal team condemned ongoing attacks, stating that her litigation involves clear evidence of harassment and retaliation, discrediting any narrative suggesting a simple disagreement or “he said/she said” dispute. They highlighted typical defense tactics that blame the victim or invert roles to protect offenders as improper and harmful.
“Ms. Lively’s federal litigation before the Southern District of New York involves serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts.”
Lively’s lawyers
“While we go through the legal process, we urge everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry.”
Lively’s legal team
Baldoni’s Legal Defense Counters with Allegations of Media Manipulation
Freedman swiftly responded to these statements, accusing Lively’s team of orchestrating a media attack by leaking altered documents to The New York Times ahead of the complaint filing. He claimed they possess extensive evidence of bullying and threats intended to control the movie’s production.
“It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint.”
Bryan Freedman, Attorney
“We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie.”
Freedman continued.
Additional Lawsuit Filed by Baldoni, Wayfarer, Nathan, and Abel Against Lively and Reynolds
On January 16, 2025, Baldoni and his associates filed another lawsuit in New York, targeting Lively and Reynolds, as well as her publicist Leslie Sloane and her PR firm Vision PR. This suit alleges civil extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and interference with economic relationships.
The plaintiffs rejected Lively’s harassment claims, arguing she seized control of the film project with Reynolds’ assistance and collaborated with others to “tar and feather” them in the press following backlash over her marketing efforts.
“Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.”
Bryan Freedman, Attorney
Lively’s Legal Team Criticizes Baldoni’s Counter-Lawsuit
In response, Lively’s attorneys branded the latest suit as
“another chapter in the abuser playbook,”
describing tactics of denial, attack, and reversal of victim and offender roles commonly known as DARVO.
“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim.”
Lively’s Lawyers
They further refuted Baldoni’s claims that Lively alienated the cast or manipulated creative control, noting that the evidence will reveal negative experiences with Baldoni from other cast members and confirming Sony explicitly tasked Lively with overseeing the film’s final cut.
“Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing.”
Lively’s legal team
Behind-the-Scenes Footage Released Amidst the Dispute
On January 21, 2025, Baldoni’s legal counsel published behind-the-scenes footage from the film’s production to challenge Lively’s description of events. The footage, they argued, demonstrated mutual respect and professionalism during scenes central to allegations of misconduct.
“The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another. Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.”
Baldoni’s Attorneys
However, Lively’s team contended that the video actually corroborates her claims, showing her clear discomfort and attempts to redirect the interaction, a reaction recognizable to anyone who has experienced inappropriate touching in the workplace.
Lively and Ryan Reynolds Request Gag Order on Baldoni’s Lawyer
Amid escalating tensions, Lively and Reynolds sought a gag order on Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lead counsel, asking the presiding judge to prevent improper conduct during ongoing proceedings. This request aimed to manage the highly publicized and contentious nature of the case as it progresses.
Revelations of a Personal Voice Memo Between Baldoni and Lively
In late January 2025, a seven-minute voice memo from Baldoni to Lively was made public. The recording referenced a rooftop scene that Lively had rewritten, and included an apology from Baldoni expressing regret for his initial negative response to her script changes.
“We should all have friends like that aside from the fact that they’re two of the most creative people on the planet… The three of you guys together, it’s unbelievable.”
Justin Baldoni, in voice memo
“I f–ked up. One thing you should know about me is that I will admit and apologize when I fail.”
Justin Baldoni
Trial Date Set for March 2026 Amid Continuing Legal Battles
On January 27, 2025, a trial date was scheduled for March 9, 2026, regarding Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni. This trial represents a forthcoming stage in a lengthy and complicated legal saga that has gripped Hollywood and sparked widespread media attention.
Baldoni Expands His Lawsuit to Include The New York Times
At the end of January, Baldoni amended his $400 million counterclaim to add The New York Times as a defendant. He accused Lively and her team of colluding to feed false information to the newspaper, alleging that the Times relied on cherry-picked and misleading communications to craft its controversial report.
“The newspaper cherry picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead.”
Baldoni’s amended complaint excerpt
Baldoni’s Team Launches Website to Present Their Narrative
On February 2, 2025, Baldoni’s legal team unveiled a website designed to share extensive documents related to the lawsuits, including their amended complaint and a detailed timeline of relevant events. The site also featured alleged text messages exchanged between Lively, Reynolds, and Baldoni, reflecting the ongoing legal communications battle.
“We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts.”
Bryan Freedman, Attorney
Lively Files Amended Complaint Adding Testimonies From Other Women
On February 18, 2025, Lively’s legal team filed an amended complaint introducing new allegations that two other women from the film’s production had come forward describing discomfort caused by Baldoni’s on-set behavior. The complaint insisted these accounts were documented starting in May 2023 and acknowledged by Baldoni at the time.
“Ms. Lively was not alone in complaining about Mr. Baldoni. The experiences of Ms. Lively and others were documented at the time they occurred starting in May of 2023.”
Lively’s amended complaint excerpt
For confidentiality and safety concerns due to alleged retaliation, the identities of these additional women were not disclosed. Baldoni’s legal response called the new complaint “unsubstantial hearsay,” noting that the women were unwilling to publicly support Lively’s claims.
Lively and Reynolds’ Publicist Seeks Dismissal From Lawsuit
Shortly thereafter, Leslie Sloane, publicist for Lively and Reynolds, requested to be removed from Baldoni’s lawsuit. Sloane’s motion argued that the accusations against her were baseless and that she was wrongly pulled into the case as a “smoke and mirrors” diversion from the core allegations made by Lively.
Blake Lively Hires Former CIA Deputy Chief of Staff for Legal Communications
On February 28, 2025, Lively added Nick Shapiro, a former Deputy Chief of Staff at the CIA, to her legal team. Shapiro, who has held senior security and crisis communication roles in major corporations like Visa and Airbnb, was hired to advise on the complex legal communications strategy surrounding the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.
The New York Times Moves to Withdraw From Lawsuit
The same day, The New York Times filed a motion seeking dismissal from the $400 million lawsuit including both Lively and Baldoni’s teams. The newspaper argued that a one-sided narrative fueled headlines but that the paper itself should not be a party to the dispute.
“The Times does not belong in this dispute.”
The New York Times’ legal filing
The court granted a stay on discovery related to The New York Times while the motion to dismiss is considered, recognizing substantial grounds for dismissal and affirming the newspaper’s First Amendment protections.
Baldoni’s Team Attempts to Subpoena Taylor Swift, Prompting Denial
In May 2025, Baldoni’s legal team sought to subpoena singer Taylor Swift over her alleged involvement in the production. Swift’s representatives categorically denied her participation beyond licensing one song for the soundtrack, calling the subpoena a publicity stunt aimed at generating tabloid interest rather than focusing on facts.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie… Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Taylor Swift’s spokesperson
Baldoni’s attorneys later withdrew the subpoena request following this response.
Judge Dismisses Baldoni’s Countersuit Against Lively and Reynolds
On June 9, 2025, a judge granted a motion dismissing Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane, and Vision PR, ruling that Baldoni’s team failed to establish evidence for defamation or civil extortion claims.
“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us,”
Lively shared on Instagram after the dismissal.
“With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me. Many of you I know. Many of you I don’t. But I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you.”
Blake Lively, Actress
Baldoni’s attorney disputed the victory declaration, calling it false and insisting the case concerns alleged false accusations and a non-existent smear campaign described by Lively’s team as “untraceable.”
Blake Lively’s Deposition and Courtroom Preparations
On July 31, 2025, Lively sat for a deposition in New York. Despite media speculation of a highly charged confrontation with Baldoni, her attorneys clarified that the presence of multiple individuals was routine and was misrepresented in reports that suggested she required significant support to testify.
The deposition added another layer of legal development as the trial date approaches, with both sides preparing for a high-stakes courtroom battle.
The ongoing Blake Lively legal battle involving Justin Baldoni, their respective legal teams, production companies, and media outlets has evolved into an extensive, multi-faceted dispute drawing significant public and industry attention. This case highlights pressing issues surrounding workplace conduct, retaliation, and media responsibility, with significant implications for Hollywood’s handling of harassment allegations and contractual relationships. As the trial date nears, further revelations and legal maneuvers are expected to shape the outcome and reverberate throughout the entertainment industry.
